In informal reasoning, the appeal to authority is a form of argument attempting to establish a statistical syllogism.
Fallacious examples of using the appeal include any appeal to authority used in the context of logical reasoning, and appealing to the position of an authority or authorities to dismiss evidence; while authorities can be correct in judgments related to their area of expertise, they can still come to the wrong judgments through error, bias, dishonesty, or falling prey to groupthink.
Thus, the appeal to authority is not a generally reliable argument for establishing facts.
"Picture all experts as if they were mammals."
- Christopher Hitchens
Fallacious examples of using the appeal include any appeal to authority used in the context of logical reasoning, and appealing to the position of an authority or authorities to dismiss evidence; while authorities can be correct in judgments related to their area of expertise, they can still come to the wrong judgments through error, bias, dishonesty, or falling prey to groupthink.
Thus, the appeal to authority is not a generally reliable argument for establishing facts.
"Picture all experts as if they were mammals."
- Christopher Hitchens
